Reducing Recovery Program Auto Risk Through Mileage Reduction

When we talk about vehicle safety, most people immediately think of better driver training or newer vans. While those are important, they don’t address the core mathematical reality of risk: the more miles you drive, the more likely you are to have an accident.

Daryl Henry, Managing Partner at Bitner Henry Insurance Group, and Chris Graham, a specialist in insurance for recovery centers and sober living homes, recently discussed a strategy that is often overlooked because it requires a change in how a program operates. That strategy is Mileage Reduction.

Is Your Recovery Program Doing Too Much Transport?

Many recovery programs, especially those that provide transportation to and from work for their residents, have inadvertently turned into transportation companies.

“If you’re driving people to and from work every day, you’ve got seven people in the van, and you’re going 50,000 miles a year… you’re a borderline taxicab company,” says Daryl Henry.

The risk is cumulative. If you are driving 40,000 to 50,000 miles a year in heavy rush-hour traffic, the odds are simply not in your favor. Eventually, even the best driver will encounter a situation they can’t avoid.

In the insurance world, we also look for “severity” risks: the kind of accidents that don’t just cost a few thousand dollars, but could actually end an organization.

Daryl Henry is blunt about the stakes: “The quickest way you’re going to have a multi-million dollar claim is in a vehicle with people in it. It’s the van with seven people that rolls over on the interstate and turns into a fiery holocaust. That’s where you see the multi-million dollar claim.”

When you reduce the number of passengers in a vehicle or the number of trips that vehicle makes, you aren’t just lowering your gas bill; you are lowering the statistical probability of a catastrophic loss.

How Can You Lower Your Recovery Program’s Auto Risk?

Risk management at a high level follows a simple hierarchy. As Daryl Henry explains, “The number one best way to make sure something doesn’t happen in your operation is to not do it at all. If you don’t want to be worried about vehicle accidents, don’t drive vehicles.”

Since total elimination isn’t always possible for a recovery home, the next step is reduction and outsourcing. * Public Transportation: Whenever possible, utilize city bus routes or rail lines.

• Ride-Sharing: Transitioning residents to Uber or Lyft shifts the primary liability to the ride-share company.
• Consolidation: Evaluating work schedules to ensure one trip is doing the work of three.

“If you reduce the number of miles that you drive, it’s going to be a natural thing that you’re going to have less accidents,” Henry notes.

How Can Recovery Programs Get the Best Auto Insurance Rates in 2026?

For programs looking to get the best insurance rates in 2026, underwriters aren’t just looking for “safe” drivers; they are looking for organizations that are conscious of their exposure. Being able to show that you have intentionally reduced your fleet mileage or outsourced high-risk transport routes sets you apart as a “best-in-class” operation.

Chris Graham emphasizes that these changes must be more than just talk. “It’s one thing to have policies, it’s another thing to actually implement them… practicing and practicing and just doing them all the time.”

By driving less, you aren’t doing less for your residents: you are ensuring your program stays open long enough to help the next person who walks through your doors.

Learn about the unique risks for auto insurance in recovery programs here.